1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for installing an unsecured deck board and, more particularly, to a deck board pushing and clamping device for pushing and clamping an unsecured board against a secured board for securing of the unsecured board to a support joist with nails.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well-known in the art, devices have been made heretofore for pushing and pulling deck boards into position for nailing. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,494, issued in the name of Pittman et al., discloses a deck and soffit board camming or pushing device for pushing boards together. A lever is used to push a camming member against an unsecured board, and the lever must be held in position while the unsecured board is secured with nails to a support joist.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,266, issued in the name of Barrera, discloses a decking clamp and spacer which utilizes an articulating lever assembly for straightening and installation of deck boards, wherein an operator exerts enough pressure with one hand on a lever handle, thereby leaving a second hand free to drive a nail through the board into an adjacent joist thereby securing the board.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,791, issued in the name of Staskiewicz, discloses a board straightener tool consisting of a hand lever pivotally connected to a saddle place on a joist so that the hand lever can come into contact with a board on top of the joist and by using leverage, move the board to decrease the size of a gap between the board and another board for constructing decks.
However, the related art does not address the problem of clamping an unsecured board into a releasably locked position against an adjacent secured board and against a support joist, wherein both hands of a single operator are freed while the unsecured board is secured with nails to the support joist, thereby permitting single operator installation of an unsecured board used in building decks or the like.